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"You…"
Li Xiang was stunned for a moment, a thought suddenly flashing through his mind.
He lowered his head, lifted his soaked shirt, and looked at his aching right side, which was bruised and even slightly swollen.
Even more exaggerated was the special material plate inside the protective vest on his chest. It was B-grade strength, capable of significantly reducing the impact of moves from Pokémon up to level 50.
But after being grazed by Buzzwole's punch, it had shattered into many pieces.
His chest hurt a little, though not as much as his right side, which meant the protective vest had done its job.
"Did you save me?"
Li Xiang looked at Froakie and asked in a low voice.
In his memory, he had been knocked into the water by something. His initial fall hadn't been fast enough, and Buzzwole had caught him.
"Froakiet~"
Froakie nodded as if pleased with itself, while the "bundle" on its back, known as Froakie's foam, suddenly turned black and emitted a bit of black smoke.
—Smokescreen!
Li Xiang's eyes widened, but before he could react, Froakie disappeared.
Yes.
It vanished into thin air.
"...Camouflage," Li Xiang murmured softly. He wasn't foolish enough to think Froakie had magically disappeared and start panicking to look for it.
In this world, all mysteries stem from moves, abilities, and the Pokémon themselves.
No doubt, Buzzwole's inability to see them earlier was also related to Froakie's Camouflage move.
But he had never heard of Camouflage being able to extend to humans, let alone their clothes!
Moreover, if even Buzzwole could be fooled, how sensitive was this guy's perception? This was evident from how Riolu had been discovered while spying from a distance.
—Individual differences: Special talents.
This thought flashed through Li Xiang's mind. Pokémon's differences manifested in various ways, even in the smallest of moves.
Froakie reappeared, hopping onto Li Xiang's shoulder with a friendly and proactive demeanor.
Speaking of which, no wonder he had been feeling his shoulders were heavy.
He had thought it was because of his backpack, but now it seemed that having a ten-pound creature standing on his shoulder was the real reason.
On the stone wall of the shore, Lin Feng jumped down, splashing water everywhere with a loud thud. "Where did this Froakie come from?"
"Don't ask me, I want to know too."
Li Xiang shook his head. He didn't even understand why Froakie had risked its life to save him.
Moreover, the top priority now was to get to the Pokémon Center. While Poké Balls could stabilize a Pokémon's injuries and prevent them from worsening, prolonged exposure would still be tough on Torracat and the others.
Torracat wasn't going to die so easily. Although the sight of blood spraying everywhere was terrifying, it wasn't at the point of being critically injured.
To show it was still alive, it had even pushed the ball while underwater.
After taking care of the Pokémon, they needed to inform Li Zhehan, who would then relay the information to Huo Li, and then Huo Li would...
"Do you have Xu Wan's contact information? Her phone number?"
Li Xiang suddenly turned to look at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, then his face turned slightly red, and he stammered, "Y-yes, I do. Why?"
"That's good."
Li Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. With Xu Wan, the daughter of the Qingcheng Association president, as a contact, the Buzzwole incident would surely be taken seriously without all the unnecessary detours.
He couldn't help but touch his pocket, which was bulging and slightly uncomfortable.
No doubt, it was the camera. Unfortunately, it was completely ruined, but hopefully, the memory card inside was intact and could serve as evidence.
The two quickly made their way ashore.
Froakie clung to Li Xiang's shoulder, refusing to get down, as if it had taken a liking to his shoulder.
Two kids standing by the sea, soaked to the bone, one of them with torn clothes, looking quite pitiful.
In a society where most people were inclined to help others, it was easy to attract attention.
Sure enough, after walking just over ten meters, a van pulled over.
Inside were a man and a woman, with the back filled with cardboard boxes, clearly on their way to pick up goods from the dock.
Li Xiang tugged at Lin Feng's sleeve, and the two boys began to sob to the kind-hearted couple about how they had accidentally fallen into the sea, struggled to climb back up, and how their Pokémon had fainted, among other dramatic details.
Froakie had already turned invisible before the car approached. This Pokémon was extremely wary of strangers and had even considered turning them invisible as well.
Fortunately, Li Xiang noticed in time and stopped it.
In any case, after some convincing, the two finally got a ride to the Pokémon Center.
About ten minutes later, they arrived.
The middle-aged couple wanted to notify the boys' parents directly, but Li Xiang managed to talk them out of it.
The two turned and entered the center, shouting for emergency help.
Several carts were pushed out by a few Chansey, rumbling like tanks, quickly arriving in front of Li Xiang.
Professional and efficient.
Li Xiang placed all his Poké Balls on the carts.
"Little Frog, do you need medical attention?" He patted Froakie on his shoulder. "It's safe here, trust me."
Like a flowing water curtain, in the play of light and shadow, Froakie revealed itself, the white foam on its back now resembling a mask on its face, its pupils turning into horizontal lines, lazily yet vigilantly observing its surroundings.
"Froakie~"
It shook its head.
Having never been touched by Buzzwole, aside from being a bit tired from maintaining Camouflage for two people for so long, Froakie was unharmed.
A nurse approached, asking if the two needed to rest and perhaps take a shower and change clothes.
The Pokémon Center here, like those in the later generations of the games, was very humane. It not only provided Pokémon medical care but also many other health and wellness services.
Similar to a hotel.
Li Xiang and Lin Feng naturally needed to rest. Their clothes were so wet they could wring out several pounds of water, and the two boys were utterly exhausted.
Once in a private room.
Li Xiang finally dared to take out his phone from his pocket.
These days, waterproof keypad phones were a basic feature, mainly catering to trainers. Thankfully, this thing hadn't been smashed by Buzzwole.
"What's Xu Wan's number? Hurry up, don't dawdle!" Li Xiang pushed Lin Feng, who was in the middle of taking off his clothes.
"How did you know I memorized her phone number?"
Lin Feng turned around in shock.
...Didn't you say it yourself?!
Li Xiang's mouth twitched. They say love makes women blind, but it seemed Lin Feng had become a bit foolish too. "Can you hurry up! This is urgent!"
No time for dog food! Go away!
Lin Feng nodded and recited a string of numbers, then took out his own phone to confirm.
After confirming it was correct, Li Xiang quickly dialed the number, refusing Lin Feng's help. This fool couldn't distinguish priorities and might even start small talk with Xu Wan.
The call connected, and a slightly unfamiliar low female voice came through.
It was indeed Xu Wan.
After getting confirmation from Lin Feng, Li Xiang quickly told her who he was, then asked if she could contact her grandfather as soon as possible.
He briefly explained what had happened, ending with the fact that they were waiting at a Pokémon Center in a certain location.
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to use technical terms, sticking to descriptive language throughout.
He also reminded Xu Wan that he estimated Buzzwole's strength.
—At least level 70 or higher, possibly even stronger.
In reality, Buzzwole was a minor issue. It wasn't like the Guzzlord from the Alola region, which was nearly impossible to kill.
Even though Buzzwole could restore its health by absorbing the bodily fluids of Pokémon, if it couldn't recover while fighting, it still wouldn't be a match for the vast number of trainers.
The real problem was the Ultra Wormhole!
That thing was deadly!
With one open, it was only a matter of time before a second, third, and more appeared.
Those bizarre, uniquely specialized creatures that liked to parasitize, self-destruct, cut through everything, or release electric currents—if they appeared in the city...
It was unimaginable.
Li Xiang had long since realized how hostile Ultra Beasts were to this world, to humans and Pokémon.
He wasn't foolish enough to think that Ultra Beasts and humans could coexist peacefully.
Why the Ultra Wormhole had appeared in the Zhu Xia region was also a question worth investigating.
...
Xu Wan was dumbfounded.
The amount of information Li Xiang had shared was overwhelming, and halfway through, she ran to her father's study.
She put the call on speakerphone and listened until the end.
When Li Xiang hung up, the twelve-year-old Xu Wan saw, for the first time, such a deep and horrified expression on her usually composed father's face.
It was as if he had heard something incomprehensible, something he couldn't even imagine.
"Impossible... impossible..."
Xu Wan's father muttered, his hands trembling as he picked up the phone in the study, dialing a number with shaking fingers.
"Dad..."
Xu Wan was a bit scared.
"Wanwan, go find your mom, okay?" Xu Wan's father forced a smile, but it looked pale.
At this point, Xu Wan didn't dare to stay. She took her Ralts, whose red horn was glowing, and went to find her mother.
Originally, she had planned to go with them to find Lin Feng.
But now...
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination.
As she walked out the door and turned around, she thought she heard her father say in a nearly choked voice, "Dad... we've brought trouble upon ourselves..."
There was no trace of the composed middle-aged man in his early thirties.
But because it was too far away, it wasn't very clear, like a faint whisper in a dream.
Xu Wan didn't dare confirm with her father and pretended she hadn't heard.
...
Back with Li Xiang.
After showering and changing clothes, he checked the items in his backpack.
The camera was definitely ruined, no doubt about that. Fortunately, the memory card was intact and hadn't gotten wet.
In the backpack, the climbing pick and shovel were unharmed, the glow sticks were all broken, the nylon rope was fine...
After sorting through everything, it turned out that most of the items were ruined after being soaked in water.
However, he most expensive item, the artificial gills, was still intact.
Still, overall, it was a huge loss.
He was probably going to get a scolding from Mrs. Yin and Li Zhehan.
Li Xiang sighed. With such a big incident, there was no way to hide it from the two of them.
He could only hope that Grandma would show some mercy and protect him. If Grandpa could say something, that would be even better.
As for Duan Tianxing... oh boy.
He was probably going to get extra training.
The old man hated it when his students overestimated their abilities.
"How much did you lose?"
Lin Feng was drying his hair behind him. This guy had been a bystander the entire time, not even releasing his Pokémon—
Oh, he had been about to release Lapras when Li Xiang was running over, but Froakie had interrupted him.
"Forget about losses. You should worry about your own backside first."
Li Xiang patted Lin Feng's shoulder with pity. Lin Feng's father was a very traditional, strict parent who believed in strict discipline.
Lin Feng was going to have it worse than him.
Although, from a modern perspective, Lin Feng's father's behavior was questionable, Lin Feng's carefree and forgiving personality was also a result of his traditional upbringing.
The more he was disciplined, the more mischievous he became, and the more mischievous he became, the more he was disciplined. That was Lin Feng, the model youth of the new era.
"Uh..."
The boy's face stiffened.